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One of the most beautiful architectural
monuments in Moscow is Pashkov Dom (Pashkov's Mansion), which later
became known as Rumiantsev's Museum. The most interesting thing about the
mansion is that nobody knows for certain when it was built and by whom. Russian
and, later, Soviet art historians are divided; the majority feels that Bazhenov
was its architect, while the minority credits Kazakov. As for the time of its
erection, the safest guess would be between 1780 and 1790.
The mansion was built in the Renaissance style, and consists of a four story
central building, two lower wings, one on each side, and a lovely belvedere in
front. It was erected on a small hill opposite the Kremlin, as if it had wanted
to play the coquette with its majestic rival. At the end of the 18 Th century
there was nothing in between them but a vast "English" garden with
monuments, fountains, caves, bridges and a large clean pond where swans were
the major attraction. Muscovites used to flock around the gilded fence, admire
the beauties of the estate and envy the luxury of the rich.
Count Nicholas Petrovich Rumiantsev, 1754-1826, was for a few years Alexander
I's prime minister. He quit in 1812 and decided to dedicate the rest of his
life to collecting ancient manuscripts, books and all sorts of art objects. He
built up a rich collection which he left to the state in 1828. It was moved
from Saint Petersburg to Moscow in 1861, into Pashkov's Mansion, where it
became known as Rumiantsev's Museum. In 1862 Alexander II enriched the museum
with some two hundred paintings from the Hermitage. Several other Maecenas
offered their contributions too, and particularly generous among them were
Grand-Duchess Helen Pavlovna and Prince Dolgorukii. V. A. Dashkov offered rich
ethnographic material, while Prianichnikov gave a collection of paintings by
modern Russian painters. Most of the books in the library, some 700,000 works,
were contributed by Count Rumiantsev. The library and the museum was the first
in Russia to be open to the public, and on Sundays admission was free. After
the revolution of 1917 most Russian philanthropists and art collectors were
deprived of their collections and museums, their names obliterated and in most
cases usurped by the new rulers who contributed nothing. It was in this way
that Rumiantsev's Museum became "Lenin's Library."
There is specific documentation on another mansion in Moscow, confirming that
it was built by Bazhenov. He was commissioned by the rich merchant Khlebnikov,
and this mansion too, located on Maroseyka Street (presently Bogdan
Khmelnitskii) was purchased by the Rumiantsev family. The famous Field-Marshall
P. A. Rumiantsev-Zadunaiskii, father of count Nicholas, lived there until his
death in 1796. Presently the mansion housed the Representation of the White
Russian Federated Republic in Moscow. Later, under Emperor Paul I, Bazhenov was
invited to Saint Petersburg to supervise minor remodeling of the existing
palaces in Pavlovsk and Gatchina, and he was even named vice-president of the
Academy. However, Catherine's decision to pull down his major work, the palace
in Tsaritsino, was a hard blow to Bazhenov's prestige, from which he was unable
to recover.
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